istanbul: a street food haven

oh how I yearn for street corn

I think it’s safe to say I have consumed enough Turkish street food to last me a lifetime. Which was the goal, by the way.

Disclaimer: this is about street food, but I’ll admit I’m a bit loose with my definition of street food and this encompasses all the more casual fare we had.

Turkish food is found all over the world. Every destination we’ve been, there are kebab shops on every corner and windows showcasing a giant stack of rotating doner to tempt you in as you rush by. Turkish food has quite the reputation for being quick, convenient and a perfect-when-drunk fast-food option.

I’ll be honest, I too have been tempted by the call of the kebab during long exploration days where my feet begin to ache and my appetite started to rage. But I held off, wanting to try real Turkish cuisine in actual Turkey. And I’m happy I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed the array of casual bites we consumed! Starting off strong with carbs, we have:

Simit

Grace + carts selling circular bread = a match made in heaven. Or street food heaven, if you will. Seriously though, I am loving this trend of sampling bagel-esque bread from coloured carts across the globe, and simit became my second favourite variety (kolouri in Athens holds my heart). I already discussed simit here, so I’ll give you the highlights: bread is dipped in a mix of pomegranate molasses and water, then coated in sesame seeds before being baked in wood-fire oven. Simple, cheap and textural perfection!

It can be found being sold on every corner from vibrant red carts and is the perfect grab and go breakfast or a great carb boost mid-day when our legs were sore from trekking 20k+ steps. You can get it plain (my preference), or stuffed with cream cheese/nutella!

oh the joys of this view

Street Corn

You know when something is so ridiculously simple, but it just hits in a way you know nothing else can? Yeah, for me, that was the corn on the cob being sold from (you guessed it!) more red carts all around Istanbul. It’s boiled, then, once you order one, is placed on a little coal grill to warm up and get some char. It’s topped with loads of salt, and then handed over, simple as that.

look at that SALT

My gosh, did I go feral for this! There was something about hot corn on those cold autumn days that satisfied like nothing else.

Adana Kebab Durum

So this is where the “street food” label get’s a little loose, as proper kebab is no quick food, and this dish is served at many sit down restaurants. But the absolute gem of a place we frequented, that I truly believe serves the best adana kebab in Istanbul, doesn’t have much seating, so we tended to get the kebab in wrap form (durum) and eat it on the go.

adana durum, the love of my life

The adana kebab is hand minced lamb meat seasoned with pepper (often described on menus as “spicy”though I never thought it to be spicy) and cooked on a skewer over flames. That’s why good kebab isn’t quick: if made to-order, it takes time to slowly roast, but the pay off is worth it.

Adana kebab is one of my favourite foods from Istanbul. And we had it A LOT, at A LOT of places, but no restaurant came close to the supremacy of Haci Kebap Durumcu, just off of Taksim square. The meat was beyooond juicy and the seasoning? Perfect. You can get just the skewer, but I love it in durum form, as the bread soaks in the fat and takes on it’s own delicious flavour. Plus, I love the toasty-ness you get from the wrap.

the meat platter from Haci- including the adana! (bangin’)

Please note that “wraps”(including doner) aren’t served slathered with sauce like in other countries, it’s all about the meat and the light toppings: tomatoes, sumac, onion etc. Which is great, as it feels much lighter this way, and ensures meat quality. Though… it’s not light. The reason kebab tastes so good is because of the high fat content. It tastes great, but if you eat it often… you may over do it and feel a tad sick (guilty). Regardless, go to this restaurant! It will blow you away.

Balik Durum

Unsurprisingly, this carb addict loves to get allll her protein in durum form, and boy, did I LOVE the balik durum. Truly a street food, as my favourite spot only serves it to-go. Simply put, it’s a fish wrap. White fish is cooked on a grill, slathered with seasoning, put in a wrap with some herbs and tomato, then that wrap is grilled and slathered with MORE seasoning.

look at herrrr

The areas surrounding the Bosporus near the Galata bridge are famous for them, and you’ll see little boats near the spice market selling them. We found the best ones amongst the streets of Karakoy, however, on the Galata tower side of the Bosporous.

My favourite spot was yildirim usta fish wrap (the sign will say Karakoy Balik Durum, but this is what you’d put into google maps). It’s popular, but for good reason! The fish was juicy and the seasoning on that durum was impeccable.

Lahmacun

Apologies in advance, we tried this on a food tour in the Asia side of Istanbul, and I have no idea what the place is called. I know, not very food newsletter writer of me; sorry! Regardless, loads of places sell it, and it’s very worth trying. It’s kind of a flat bread scenario, where meat is finely minced with vegetables and spread in a thin layer onto dough before being popped into an oven to cook. It comes out looking like a thin pita situation that you then load herbs (like cilantro) and spices (like sumac) onto!

I rolled it up, and went to town on this thing. Dan felt neutral about it, as the meat layer was quite thin, and, if he is anything, it is a carnivore, but I really enjoyed it! Just don’t go in expecting some sort of heavy meat pizza and you’ll be very satisfied.

Stuffed Mussels

Again, this was a food tour sampling, which is good, as I do not ordinarily trust seafood being sold from stalls. But these stuffed mussels sold street side were goood. I forget what exactly it was seasoned with, but definitely get the mussels with rice in them! With a hit of lemon? So fresh tasting, and so good! You’ll notice these carts in touristy areas, and we got ours from the Kadikoy market.

Borek

Again, not so much a street food, and more so breakfast you can get at a bakery: it’s quick, casual and DELICIOUS. You may have heard of borek, as many countries seem to have their own variety. I’ve had it before actually, and have always loved it. The version I’ve had before is phyllo dough rolled up with various stuffings like meat or cheese.

a hearty breakfast, always with tea

The version in Turkey is similar to this, with one big change. Instead of phyllo, a dough called yufka is used. Yufka, as I understand it, is essentially thicker phyllo. I found it strange at first, and it almost reminded me of pasta, though I grew to enjoy the chewiness the thicker pastry allowed for.

thicker layers on this cheese borek

Our favourite spot was a little place called Emek Borek. Here, we tried borek stuffed with white cheese (my favourite), meat, and a sweet version- where it's essentially just the sweetened dough topped with powdered sugar.

meat & sweet close ups

Bonus: Pistachio Coffee

Turkey is famous for Turkish coffee. Let me tell you about something better: pistachio coffee. Instead of beans, the fruit from a pistachio-like tree are ground up, making for the most deliciously nutty “coffee” you’ll ever have. I LOVED this, and highly recommend it. We frequented the coffee shop, Coffee No.4 whenever we were in the Fatih neighbourhood. Excellent pistachio coffee!!

Ironically, the one thing I did not have in Istanbul is doner. With all the glorious options, it just never felt like a priority, even though it’s probably the most famous Turkish food there is. This list is frankly, small and just barely scratches the surface of all the possible eats you can have… but I got sick for the latter half of our trip, and my dreams of sampling as much food as possible came to an abrupt end- though I still felt like I had A LOT.

Even so, this list does not encompass our restaurant meals. So stay tuned for more great Turkish food!